NLCS: Giants into World Series with 9-0 rout of Cardinals

SINGING IN THE RAIN:San Francisco completed their rally in the rain after being down 3-1, thanks to stellar pitching from Matt Cain and a bizarre double from Hunter Pence

AP, SAN FRANCISCO

The Giants have All-Star game Most Valuable Player Melky Cabrera to thank for helping his teammates secure home-field advantage in the post-season — while Cain was the winning pitcher the National League’s 8-0 victory in July. Cabrera was suspended for 50 games on Aug. 15 for a positive testosterone test, then was not added to the roster by the Giants after his suspension ended.

After rain fell on the Cardinals during batting practice, the skies turned blue and the weather cooperated. Anxious players on both sides hung over the dugout rails as the game began.

Cain joined St Louis’ Chris Carpenter as the only pitchers with victories in two winner-take-all games in the same post-season. Carpenter, who lost Games 2 and 6 in this series, did it last year.

Cain also pitched the Giants’ Game 5 division series clincher at Cincinnati, when San Francisco became the first team in major league history to come back from a 0-2 deficit in a five-game series by winning three consecutive road games.

He delivered on an even bigger stage on Monday as San Francisco saved their season once again. The Giants won their 20th NL pennant and reached their 19th World Series.

Cain walked off the mound to a standing ovation when Jeremy Affeldt entered with two outs in the sixth. Affeldt then got Daniel Descalso to pop out with two runners on.

Yadier Molina had four hits, but got little help from the rest of the Cardinals, who went one-for-21 with runners in scoring position over their final three games.

Cain added an RBI single to his cause and got some sparkling defense behind him.

The play of the game went to shortstop Brandon Crawford, who made a leaping catch of Kyle Lohse’s liner to end the second inning with runners on second and third that would have been a run-scoring hit.